My husband was diagnosed with ALS on 11/20/2013.
Wife, best friend, partner in crime, side kick and now... caregiver. This is my side of the story.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

At the hospital (false alarm)

Sitting in the emergency room at the VA.

We hope nothing related to the ALS, just regular person sick stuff. Either really bad indigestion or gall bladder?? He's in xray now.

The nurse put a blood pressure cuff on his arm and had to find a smaller one. :( My bony guy.

The doctor asked him to point to his pain but couldn't so I got to be the pointer. Up, not there, higher..

We will see. Just hoping a big `ole Tums will do the trick.

Yup, just gas!! Yay!!

UPDATE: The next morning. Reflecting on the fact I'm happy this is just a regular thing and not an ALS thing, I realized it didn't occur to me Luther might get a cold or gas or the flu. Suddenly I want to keep him tucked away inside and not let any germs get to him.

On my end, yesterday was over a 12 hour day. I worked at 9, got home at 6 and we went to the emergency room right away. Got out around 11 and couldn't fall asleep right away - had to get him situated, cleaned the kitchen a little, ate a bagel at one in the morning.

This week is my last week of full time work. I called in this morning and said I'd be late. I'd like to stay home, make sure he's ok. just keep him comfortable, and frankly, take a nap.

I keep thinking of my sister at these times - or any mom. I've never had kids and my sense is this is a lot like having a kid. I don't know how you guys do it - managing sick kids then going to work, going on an outing and making sure you have an extra jacket, a juice box, hand wipes... Many times, I forget his reading glasses. I suppose I have to make a "kit" so I'm prepared for whatever comes up.

It's these times I realize I'm less wife and more caregiver. We fired our third home health care worker and finally "fired" the agency. A couple never showed up and one just sat there for 3 hours.

I think I'm tired - I'm rambling and way too many random thoughts. Oatmeal's on the menu this morning instead of the usual pop tart. I think I've been slacking on the menu planning -- hence, the indigestion. I'm not a cook at all. Plus he can't really use his arms much anymore so he can't use a fork. He gets lots of finger foods he can pop in a micro wave while I'm at work. Clearly, this has caught up with his tummy.

With going to part time next week, I can feed him more often and feed him healthier foods. Bonus: I get to eat healthier too!

Off to start the day! (Update: I just went to pour the oatmeal in to the boiling water and the water was all evaporated. I realized I used the oatmeal quantity for the water. OK - I'm taking a mulligan on starting the day. Here we gooooooooooooooo!)

Update #3 - trying round 2 on oatmeal: it cooked too fast so it didn't cook at all - must've had heat too high. I can't cook oatmeal!???? I'll blame it on my old stove. Awesome part of the update: I had called in to work to see if I could come in an hour later. My boss called back and said they could cover my shift until 2. Isn't that great? Makes me feel better about staying with Luther.